Collaboration!!!

@aaron-pierce. Kinda. When I said we will swap and finish each others work I was referring to @kaitlinmakes and I. I’m sorry if it sounded otherwise. We just thought others might like to team up together and do the same thing as we are with the prompt that we have. Hopefully someone else will want to join in and you can partner up with them. There are so many fun people on this forum I’m positive more people will join in.
I kinda feel like a heel right now . Like school kids, “you can play but not with us”. I promise this was not my intention. If no one else joins up, maybe we can try a three way.

So excited about this! Can't wait to see all the stories that come up!
I can't believe how fast you jumped on this @burvantill. Are we doing feedback? Haha well I guess we are now!
I really like the feel of the last image - this feels like a "moment of action" scene and I love the idea of how the bear is literally seeing his end coming. Maybe try bringing everything in tighter, if you go this route, so the bear and attacking raccoon are first and foremost, with the rest of the raccoon prisoners crowded around.

I just started my weekend, so I'll post up in the next couple of days.

@kaitlinmakes I’m excited about this. I was wondering the same about sharing. I wanted to keep it a surprise but also would like feedback too. Lol. ... I think we should share if we are stuck. Maybe. Lol. I don’t know!

@kaitlinmakes I liked that top down image too and the first/second thumbnail. I made a more elaborate version of the first image. I’ll do the same with the top down then decide which I’m going to go with. Do you want to know or be surprised ?

@burvantill Exccellent - that top one was visually my favorite.
gosh I love surprises... but maybe we should open this up to crit throughout the process. Next Level!
How do you guys feel about it? @Aaron-Pierce@Chip-Valecek
Are you joining in too Chip?

I’ve been working on my composition. Trying something new, but not sure it’s coming through. A Fibonacci spiral. Doesn’t matter because I’m happy so far . It would be nice to get some feedback before I go the next step though. Lay it on me, art friends!

@kaitlinmakes hmm. Yes i can make them larger. I’m glad you suggested it. As long as their heads don’t move, cuz the Fibonacci . I think there’s room. I was wondering about the cage. Is it too large? In my mind it would be the same color and value as the background trees so it wouldn’t stand out but as line art I’m not sure if it’s too obtrusive.

Lol - don't hate me, but I think you had it right on the first pass :p I think your original size read more "raccoon."
I don't think the cage is too big at all - I think you're right, the value of that cage should be similar to the background, so that can help pull it all back and it won't compete.
I love the idea of you pushing the gesture of right raccoon to match the motion of the the other raccoons I didn't even notice how he was kind of half-assing it. "Come on Colin! Get your head in the game!"

Haha, and one last thing cause I just noticed it - does the middle raccoon's head look like it's in an inappropriate place? I don't know if it's worth mentioning, but the bear does look a little surprised IF it feels a little bit funky, I think it can easily be fixed by grouping the middle raccoon with either his right or left comrade - this may push the dynamic feel of it too, by giving it more of a forced visual angle to draw your eye in, and you can still keep his head according to the golden ration. Win Win Win? You loose some of that balance with him in the center, but I think that's ok with this being a mid-action illustration.

Ok!
I did my homework! I just had to figure out a story I wanted to tell - which is always one of the hardest parts for me. This is about a family of Mammoths that we're forced to leave the mainland of Southern California 30,000 years ago to find a new home on one of the islands just off the coast (where they evolved into pygmy Mammoths (cuuute) and then also went extinct (booo). So I'm going for a double tragedy kind of feel here).
I did a lot of research by going down memory lane - The White Seal, The Last Unicorn, The Land Before Time - I want this to be suggested terror/violence that an 6-8 year old can digest, in the 70's.

All the images are of the Mammoth's escaping a fire.
I hope they're clear enough to see! Because I would love feedback on which ones you're feeling/which ones are working.

Just in case the visual's aren't clear -
1.View of Elephants swimming away from the beach, with the "hero" mammoth standing at the shore making sure everyone gets in safely. (kind of a Jurassic World Brachiosaurus kind of vibe)
2.Hero elephant fighting off flames while family escapes into water and swims away.
3. Mammoth holding up burning log while baby mammoth escapes beneath it.
4.Elephants swimming away from a burning beach, with swells of water.
5.Hero elephant fighting off flames while family escapes into water and swims away.
6.Elephants at edge of cliff with fire approaching. Some escape down the cliffs narrow patch, while some are forced to jump/fall from edge.

@kaitlinmakes Oh my gosh! You crack me up. Colin
And you may have a point about the head versus bear, pervo.
I kinda like them bigger. I was actually thinking of doing one more with maybe another raccoon or two in the extreme foreground so they would me really big. I’ll do that when I take Buster’s head out of the bears lap.

@kaitlinmakes They are all so dynamic! What a great story! I love the movement in your sketches. Right off, I like 1, 3, 4 & 6 for composition. Of those I like 1 & 3 the best because of the extreme foregrounds. I like 6 too for the idea, i would slide the whole image down so that the mammoths on the cliff are more centered than the falling ones. Maybe only show a little bit of a falling mammoth. Cuz it’s sad.
I can’t decide between 1&3. They’re my favorites so far.

@kaitlinmakes It makes me think of the scene in The 300 when the elephants are forced off the cliff. My friend Lori actually gasped and covered her face. Everyone loves elephants. So it would definitely get an emotional response from your audience.